Ρόδος (Rodos)

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyard area of the Rodos PDO delimited zone extends around the massif of Mount Atabyros, which rises to approximately 1,200 metres, with vineyards reaching elevations of up to 650 metres.
• The vineyard areas lie mainly in the path of the north-westerly winds of the Aegean Sea, which prevent high temperatures from developing.
• The orientation of the vineyards relative to the Atabyros massif, combined with the altitudinal variation of the area, gives rise to the distinctive microclimate that prevails across the vineyard zone.
• The island was formed by seismic upheavals, which is why shellfish fossils are found in the upland areas, while the soil composition is varied and alternating.
• Summer heat on Rodos is moderated by sea breezes that blow from May through September, while the island enjoys the highest number of sunshine hours in Greece.

• The island of Rodos ranked among the foremost centres of wine production and trade in the ancient world, as evidenced by thousands of Rhodian amphorae bearing the Sun God as their seal, found scattered throughout the Mediterranean basin.
• In 1992 Rodos celebrated its 2,400th anniversary, a fact attested by coins of that era depicting bunches of grapes on their faces as a symbol of the island's prosperity in the ancient world.

• The combination of the alternating soil composition with the area's microclimate promotes the development of high sugar levels at ripeness alongside satisfying to high acidities, and imparts distinctive flavour and aromatic characteristics to the grapes, as these are expressed through the wine.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Greece

Sources

• National product specification (PDF) — eambrosia
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-GR-A1612
• Official trade body site — CAIR — Agricultural Cooperative of Rhodes